


Dark Heir - Fourth Year

by ViolaVampyre



Series: Dark Heir [4]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, F/M, Gen, Good Death Eaters, Hermione Granger Bashing, M/M, Original Character(s), Ron Weasley Bashing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-01
Updated: 2020-02-08
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:27:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,592
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22506274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ViolaVampyre/pseuds/ViolaVampyre
Summary: Darius is excited to learn that his father has been spotted. Meanwhile, Hogwarts is hosting the tri-wizard tournament.
Relationships: Lucius Malfoy/Narcissa Black Malfoy, Tom Riddle | Voldemort/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Dark Heir [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1607878
Comments: 24
Kudos: 47





	1. Dark Mark

Darius sat by his window and gazed out into the night. His father had been spotted but he was forbidden to see him yet. His father refused to see him in the state he was in but he had been promised that they would be reunited soon. Darius could not wait. He wanted so badly to see his father. Uncle Lucius and auntie Bella left from time to time to see his father but they were secretive about his state of being.

The next day was the Quidditch World Cup. Darius was not the biggest fan but he, Draco and his uncle Lucius had been offered personal invitations so it would be rude not to go. He smiled as he saw Draco’s excited face. He had looked forward to the cup for weeks.

The place was packed. People everywhere were there to cheer for their favourite team. Darius froze when he heard a familiar voice above them as they climbed the stadium.

“Blimey dad, how far up ARE we?” It was Ron Weasley along with his family as well as Granger and Potter.

“Well put it this way, if it rains…you’ll be the first to know,” Lucius said calmly. Darius smiled as he spotted the twins and gave them a wave.

“Father, Darius and I are in the minister’s box, by personal invitation of Cornelius Fudge himself,” Draco smiled.

“Don’t boast Draco,” Lucius scolded and turned to the Weasleys. “There’s no need with these people. Do enjoy yourself won’t you. While you can.”

The match began and Darius watched the spectacle with a smile on his face. While he would rather sit in a quiet study with a good book, he could enjoy such displays as well. He cheered with the crowd when the favourite Viktor Krum caught the snitch but despite this Ireland won the match against Bulgaria.

After the match Lucius was insistent that they head straight home and after leaving the boys at Malfoy manor he left again stating he had business to take care of.

The next day Darius read in the Daily Prophet about the riot at the campsite of the World Cup and saw a picture of the dark mark in the sky on the front page.

“Did you perhaps have anything to do with this, uncle Lucius?” Darius asked as he held up the newspaper for his uncle to see.

“Not the mark, no,” Lucius answered coolly as he drank his morning tea. Darius hummed and drank his own tea, dropping the subject, knowing he would not get any more info out of his uncle.

“It says here that Alastor Moody will be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts this year,” he said as he read another article.

“That madman?” Lucius asked with a frown on his face. “First a werewolf and now a madman. What is Dumbledore thinking?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Darius mumbled.

“Don’t mumble, Darius,” Lucius scolded.

“Yes, uncle Lucius,” Darius said.

That same day Darius got a letter from the twins, asking if he was alright after the riot. Darius smiled at the letter and immediately wrote back to assure the twins he was fine and that he left before the riot. When the letter was sent Darius went to his room to continue packing for Hogwarts.

“Do they know who cast it?” Pansy asked as they sat on the train on the way to Hogwarts.

“Father is not saying anything about it,” Draco said.

“It is probably for the better. The less we know the less information can be forced out of us,” Darius said with a calculating look on his face.

“The message is clear though,” Blaise said and the others nodded.

“Strange that there haven’t been more writings about it,” Pansy said and Darius nodded.

“I think they are trying to hush it down,” he mused. Draco laughed.

“Hush it down? It was all over the sky,” he said. “Hundreds of people witnessed it.”

“And millions of people did not,” Darius said gravely. “Millions of people who would rather live in denial than accept that the dark lord is back.”

“Foolish people,” Draco muttered and Darius agreed with him.

They arrived at Hogwarts just as a carriage, drawn by seven flying horses landed on the school ground and a large ship emerged from under the water and approached too. Students were whispering amongst each other what was going on while they approached the Great hall where the sorting ceremony soon started.

Dumbledore then stood before the students and began to speak:

“Now we’re all settled in and sorted, I’d like to make an announcement. This castle will not only be your home this year but home to some very special guests as well,” he explained and whispers filled the hall. “You see Hogwarts has been chosen to host a legendary event. The Tri-Wizard tournament.” The students looked at each other and started whispering again.

“Now for those of you who do not know,” the headmaster continued. “the tri-wizard tournament brings together three schools for a series of magical contests. From each school a single contestant is selected to compete. Now let me be clear, if chosen you stand alone. And trust me when I say these contests are not for the faint hearted, but more of that later.” Dumbledore gestured at the door at the other side of the hall.

“For now, please join me in welcoming the lovely ladies of the Beauxbatons Academy of magic and their headmistress Madam Maxime.”

The door opened and a group of girls in blue uniforms came dancing in through the aisle, releasing blue butterflies into the air. Behind them walked a tall woman with brown hair. Darius had never seen a woman that tall; she was almost a giant.

Everyone applauded when the girls reached the front of the hall and Dumbledore kissed Madam Maxime’s hand before he went back up the podium to speak again:

“And now our friends from the north, please greet the proud sons of Durmstrang and the high master Igor Karkaroff,” he announced and gestured at the door again where a group of boys walked in brandishing bo staffs that they twirled around and periodically stabbed them to the ground to create sparks. Last of them came none other than Viktor Krum, followed by a bearded man dressed in a white coat. Two of the boys blew at the end of their wand creating a firedragons which swirled around them. Karkaroff went over to Dumbledore and embraced him while the students applauded once more.

A tall sculpture was carried to the front of the room and Dumbledore stood next to it as he began to speak again:

“Your attention please! I would like to say a few words. Eternal glory, that is what awaits the student who wins the tri-wizard tournament. But to do this that student must survive three tasks. Three extremely dangerous tasks.” Darius gazed around and saw the excited faces on some of the students.

“For this reason, the ministry has seen fit to impose a new rule,” Dumbledore continued. “To explain all this, we have the head of the department of international magic cooperation Mister Bartimus Crouch.” A man with a dark moustache began to make his way to the front podium when thunder roared ahead. Some students began to scream as a storm broke out over the ceiling.

A man appeared from the side entrance of the Great hall and cast a spell to seal the roof and the sky was calm again. Darius recognised the man as Alastor Moody, or Mad-eye Moody as he was sometimes called. He limped his way towards Dumbledore and shook his hand before he stepped aside and stuck a drink from a flask in his pocket.

Bartimus Crouch once more made his way to the podium and announced that only students over the age of seventeen could compete in the tournament. Darius heard how some students booed and he heard the twins protest loudly from the Gryffindor table.

Dumbledore silenced them all and touched his wand to the sculpture. The gold of the sculpture melted away to reveal a large goblet with a blue flame burning above it.

“The goblet of fire,” he announced. “Anyone wishing to submit themselves for the tournament merely write their name upon a piece of parchment and throw it in the flame before this hour on Thursday night. Do not do so lightly, if chosen there’s no turning back. As from this moment the tri-wizard tournament has begun.”

A great murmur filled the Great hall as the feast continued.

“Eternal glory,” Draco said with a smile on his face. “That would be something, wouldn’t it?”

“You would not know what to do with it,” Darius joked, making some of the other Slytherins laugh while Draco winced at him.

“Hey, princess,” Darius heard two voices say behind him and turned to face the twins.

“Good to see you again,” Fred said with a smile on his face and kissed Darius’s cheek.

“Especially after what happened at the World Cup,” George added with a matching smile. Darius smiled back at them.

“It is good to see you too,” he said. “Too bad you cannot enter the tournament.” The twins grinned widely.

“Oh, we’ll figure out a way,” Fred said softly and glanced at his brother.

“You’ll see, princess,” George added.


	2. Alastor Moody

Darius was pensive about the first DADA class. Everyone knew that Moody was mad these days but he had also been out there and truly experienced the things he would teach. It could prove to be an interesting lesson.

Moody began the lesson modestly by giving his name and writing it down on the board behind him and then immediately began to speak about the unforgivable curses.

“Can anyone tell me how many there are?” he asked the class, his mechanical eye scanning the classroom.

“Three, sir,” Granger spoke up.

“And they are named?” Moody asked with a husky voice and for once Granger seemed reluctant to answer.

“Sir, because they are unforgivable, the use of anyone of them will…”

“Earn you a one-way ticket to Azkaban. Correct,” Moody said hastily. Darius regarded the man as he continued to speak, saying he believed in a hands-on approach regarding the curses. Darius himself already knew the curses by heart, having studied them with his auntie Bella over the summers but he kept quiet about it.

“So which curse shall we see first?” Moody asked the class and went over to Weasley’s desk.

“Weasley!” The boy nearly squeaked as he stood up from his desk.

“Give us a curse!” Moody encouraged. Weasley looked around before he spoke.

“Well, my dad did tell me about one…” he mumbled. “the imperious curse.”

“Ah yes, your father would know all about that,” Moody said and went back to his table and opened a jar with a spider in it. He pulled out his wand and enlarged the spider and then cast the imperious curse on it, using his wand to send the spider flying around in the classroom. A lot of the students began laughing as he sent the spider onto several students. Moody was laughing almost manically but Darius remained silent as he regarded the man.

“Talented, isn’t she?” Moody asked joyfully. “What should I have her do next?” Moody grew serious then and sent the spider flying to the window.

“Jump out the window?” he asked and then sent the spider above a bucket of water. “Or drown herself?” Darius watched as the spider helplessly tried to avoid the water before Moody brought the spider back to his hand.

“Scores of witches and wizards have claimed to do you-know-who’s bidding under the imperious curse,” he said. “But how do we tell the truth from the liars?” Darius tightened his jaw as Moody asked for another curse and some students raised their hand, including Neville who sat at the front of the class. Moody asked Neville to name the next curse and Neville hesitated before he spoke.

“T-there’s the um…the cruciatus curse,” he said. Moody seemed enthusiastic as he bid Neville to come closer and watch as he cast the said curse on the spider which squealed in pain at being tortured. Darius could not see Neville’s face but it was obvious by his body language that he was bothered by seeing the curse that drove his parents mad.

Darius grabbed the edge of his desk as he breathed hard through his nose. Eventually he could not take it anymore and stood up.

“Stop!” he ordered with a powerful voice and Moody immediately stopped what he was doing and gazed at him with a narrowed eye.

“Mr Malfoy, is it?” he asked and Darius gave a nod his eyes meeting Moody’s gaze fully. “Perhaps you can give us the final curse?” Darius did not speak but held Moody’s gaze as the man brought the spider to Darius’s desk.

“Avada Kedavra,” Moody said and a green light hit the spider, killing it instantly. Darius refused to look down and instead continued to gaze at Moody who had grown more solemn.

“The killing curse,” Moody said. “Only one person is known to have survived it and he is sitting in this very room.” Moody went over to Potter’s desk and took a drink from his flask.

After the class Darius hurried after Neville who was obviously distraught, walking without a real purpose.

“Neville, will you be ok?” he asked softly as he put his hand on Neville’s shoulder. Neville did not speak and was gazing out the window in the middle of the stairs but Darius saw him give a small nod. Moody then limped down the stairs towards Neville and offered him a cup of tea, stating he had something to show him.

“To think he actually showed us the unforgivable curses,” Pansy said as they continued down the stairs.

“I understand why people call him mad,” Draco laughed.

“He is more than that. He is demented,” Darius said bitterly. “He has no place in a classroom.”

They headed to the Great hall where the goblet of fire still stood, protected by an age line so that only those of seventeen and up could enter it.

“Do you think we’ll ever get a chance at competing?” Draco asked as he and the others circled the goblet, watching as different students put their names in it. Darius shrugged his shoulders.

“Not sure I would want to compete,” Blaise said. “Risking one’s life for glory seems more like a Gryffindor thing to me.”

Loud cheers soon filled the room as the twins came running in, both holding a vial of potion in their hands.

“Well, lads, we’ve done it!” George said holding up the vial.

“Cooked it up just this morning,” Fred said and looked at Darius with a wink, “Impressive, eh, princess?” Darius gave him a smile.

“It’s not going to work,” Granger taunted in a nearly sing-song voice. The twins went over to her and bent down on either side of where she sat.

“Oh yeah?” Fred asked.

“And why is that, Granger?” George asked.

“A genius like Dumbledore couldn’t possibly be fooled by something as pathetically dim-witted as an aging potion,” Granger said.

“But that is why it’s so brilliant,” Fred smiled.

“Because it’s so pathetically dim-witted,” George added.

They stood up on one of the benches and raised their vials, their arms entwined.

“Bottom’s up!” they said in unison and drank down the potion and then jumped into the age line. When nothing happened, they both cheered as well as others in the room. The twins took their parchments with their names and threw them into the fire and once more nothing seemed to happen. The twins high fived each other right before the goblet flared up and tossed the twins out of the age line onto the floor. As they sat up their hair was grey and they both had long grey beards.

“You said!” Fred accused.

“Fred, you said!” George argued as they began to roll around fighting on the floor.

“And these are your so-called knights in shining armour?” Draco asked as he watched the twins. Darius shrugged his shoulder, a smile on his face.

“They are just a little rough around the edges,” he answered.

“Princess, we’re hurt!” George called out in a dramatic voice as he faced Darius.

“Kiss it better?” Fred asked. Darius laughed and pretended to think.

“Go and shave and I will think about it,” he finally said.

“I’ll hold you to that!” Fred said as he and his brother left the room just as Viktor Krum walked in and wordlessly put his name in the goblet.

That evening Darius was walking along the corridors of Hogwarts, the marauder’s map in his hand. He was heading to Snape’s office but he did not feel like running into anyone. It was almost curfew so the hallways were mostly empty safe from some stray student and the prefects.

He had nearly reached his destination when he saw Moody walk up ahead of him which made no sense since, according to the map, Moody was in his office. Darius gazed at the name associated to the figure before him and read the name Bartimus Crouch. Darius narrowed his eyes and followed the figure that looked like Moody. He made sure that no one was around before he called out:  
“Barty Crouch!” The figure stopped dead in his tracks and slowly turned around to face Darius, a grim look on his face. Darius met the man’s eyes with a grave look on his face.

“That is your name, is it not?” Darius asked.

“How did you find out, boy?” Barty asked, his tongue sticking out like a snake.

“That does not matter,” Darius said seriously. “Why are you posing as Alastor Moody?”

“You possess the Voice,” Barty said as he stepped closer to Darius. “You’re a descendant of the dark lord, aren’t you?”

“And what if I am?” Darius asked, his hand inching closer to his wand.

“I was sent by him,” Barty said. “My name is Barty Crouch Jr and I serve the dark lord.” The man kneeled down with some difficulty due to the prosthetic leg and took Darius hand in his own.

“I swear my servitude to you as the dark heir,” he hissed and pressed Darius’s hand to his forehead.

“Why has my father sent you here?” Darius asked.

“The boy,” Barty said. “Harry Potter. I am to get close to him. His blood is needed to bring your father back. Your father also asked me to keep an eye on you.”

“How can I trust you?” Darius asked suspiciously.

“I will make an unbreakable vow if I have to,” Barty said. Darius eyed the man for a while before he finally nodded.

“Very well, I trust your word Barty Crouch Jr,” he said and the man stood up, again with some difficulty. “I will be keeping an eye on you though. And if you are found out, you do not know me, understood?”

“Yes, yes. I understand.”


	3. The Fourth Champion

The day finally arrived when the champions for the tri-wizard tournament would be named. Dumbledore went over to the goblet where the flames burned red and a parchment flew out.

“The Durmstrang champion is ...Viktor Krum!” he announced and the Durmstrng students cheered when Viktor went up to the podium. Dumbledore approached the goblet again which spat out another name.

“The champion from Beauxbatons...Fleur Delacour!” The Beauxbatons students cheered as a beautiful blond girl made her way to the podium. She had an air about her which seemed familiar to Darius.

A final name flew out of the goblet and Dumbledore shouted out the name Cedric Diggory. The handsome captain of the Hufflepuff quidditch team went up with a smile on his face.

Dumbledore congratulated the three champions and Barty Crouch Sr carried forth the tri-wizard cup for all to see. Amongst the cheering Snape slowly approached the goblet of fire with a quizzical look on his face. Darius noticed this and followed his gaze to the goblet which glowed red and tossed out another name. Dumbledore caught the piece of parchment and read the name:

“Harry Potter.” His voice was soft at first but then he shouted it out for all to hear. Darius gazed at Potter who was being pushed forward by Granger. The boy looked confused and hesitant. Darius saw how Weasley gave his supposed best friend a dirty look as Potter went over to Dumbledore who handed him the parchment.

“He’s a cheat!” someone called out.

“He’s not even seventeen yet!” another called out.

Darius glanced at Barty Jr who gave a small nod, answering the unasked question. Darius hummed, his chin resting on his fist as he watched Potter.

It was some days later that Darius went to the owl tower and found Potter there, gazing out of the window.

“Potter?” he called out to get the other boy’s attention. Potter turned around with a small frown.

“How did you know I was here?” he asked and Darius held up the marauder’s map. “Of course.”

“How are you feeling, Potter?” Darius asked as he went over to stand by Potter’s side.

“Oh great,” Potter said sarcastically. “The whole school think I’m a cheat, even my best friend. I didn’t put my name in that goblet.”

“I believe you, Potter,” Darius said softly. Potter sighed.

“You’d be the only one,” he muttered.

“I doubt that,” Darius said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Not everyone are against you, you know? You do have friends.”

“Where? I don’t exactly see them lining up,” Potter said, frustrated.

“I am your friend,” Darius said. “I at least hoped that you knew that.” Potter gazed at him and sighed again.

“I guess I do,” he said and gave a small smile which Darius returned.

“So, Gryffindor champion,” Darius teased as he bumped playfully into Potter. “How do you think you will fare in the tournament?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t really thought about it. It’s all happened so fast,” Potter said.

“I think you will do well,” Darius said confidently. “You have faced some things in the past that no ordinary boy your age would face.”

“I guess that’s true,” Potter mumbled.

Just then a rather scruffy-looking owl appeared and Potter went over to it and read the letter it was carrying. Darius remained where he was and gazed at Potter. He gave a small laugh when the owl nipped Potter on the hand.

“It’s from Sirius,” Potter said as explanation as he waved the letter. “He asks me to meet with him.”

“Sounds serious,” Darius said with a cock of his head. Potter merely nodded.

“I had better go,” Potter finally said and Darius nodded.

“Just know that I am there for you if you wish to talk,” he said and Potter smiled.

“Thank you, Malfoy,” he said and left the tower.

It did not take long for the students of Hogwarts to start wearing badges with Cedric Diggory’s face on them which spun and then said Potter stinks on it. Darius had made sure that no one in his group of friends wore them but he could not stop anyone else. He watched as Potter was booed and mocked as he walked through the corridors.

“Potter stinks!” a student called after Potter and Darius huffed as he went and walked beside Potter.

“You sang a different song when he saved the school from you-know-who!” he called out after the student.

“You don’t have to do this,” Potter said as he continued to walk.

“I know,” Darius said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I have heard though that friends stick out for each other.” They were soon joined by Blaise, Theo, Pansy and Draco who walked beside them as well.

“What are you doing?” Potter asked them.

“Standing up for a fellow student,” Blaise said simply as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“If Darius thinks you’re ok then so do we,” Theo said.

“See Potter?” Darius said as he gave Potter a soft bump on the shoulder. “You are not alone.” Potter smiled until he spotted Weasley walking along with Finnigan. Potter walked faster and went up to Weasley.

“Fraternizing with snakes now, are we?” Weasley asked.

“You’re a right foul git, you know that?” Potter spat.

“You think so?” Weasley asked darkly.

“I know so!” Potter said.

“Anything else?” Weasley asked.

“Yeah! Stay away from me!” Potter ordered.

“Fine,” Weasley said and pushed past Potter. Darius went up to Potter and placed a hand on his shoulder.

“Will you be ok?” he asked softly.

“Yeah, I just…” Potter said and sighed heavily. “I don’t know.”

“Come on,” Darius said. “Let us go to the lake.” He began to lead Potter away from the school and over to the lake. Blaise and the others stayed behind, sensing that they needed a moment in private.

“So, what is on your mind, Potter?” Darius asked as they reached the lakeside. Potter sighed.

“Everything,” he answered. “Not only am I losing my friends but now I find out that I have to fight a dragon for my first task in the tournament!” Darius gazed at him.

“A dragon? Really?” he asked in amazement. He never would have guessed that.

“Yes, a dragon!” Potter said. “How am I supposed to fight a dragon?”

“You will find a way. You just have to play to your strengths,” Darius said.

“I don’t know what my strengths are,” Potter said in frustration.

“Sure, you do, Potter,” Darius encouraged. “Just think.” Darius gazed towards the castle where he saw how Barty Jr came limping towards them.

“I should go now, Potter,” he said and had left by the time Barty reached Potter.


	4. The First Task

The day of the first task of the tournament came and Darius was sitting in the audience along with his friends. He spotted the twins taking bets on the contestants.

First out was Diggory who transfigured a rock into a Labrador to distract his dragon, a Swedish short-snout. He managed to get the egg and the crowd cheered but by then the dragon lost interest in the dog and began to chase after Diggory and in the end half his face was burned and he was brought to the infirmary wing under loud cheers.

Next out was Fleur. She managed to lure the dragon, a Welch Green, into a sleeping trance, but was immobilised when the dragon snored and released a jet of flame that set her skirt on fire. Fleur extinguished the fire with water from her wand, then managed to retrieve the golden egg as people cheered for her.

Third out was Krum who faced a Chinese fireball. He used the Conjunctivitis Curse to blind the dragon and retrieve the Golden egg but the dragon, confused and blinded, stumbled around and crushed half the real eggs it was guarding. This lost him some points.

Last out was Potter who faced a Hungarian Horntail. Potter entered the rocky arena and immediately went for the gold egg but was stopped as the dragon appeared and Potter narrowly managed to hide behind a rock as the dragon breathed fire at him.

“Come on, Potter!” Darius screamed out as Potter stumbled around the arena, trying to avoid the fire. Potter eventually summoned his broom and flew away with the dragon chasing after him, out of the arena. For a long while no one saw them and people mumbled amongst themselves, wondering if Potter would succeed.

“There he is!” someone shouted and sure enough Potter appeared in the sky, without the dragon, flying towards the arena to retrieve the golden egg. Darius cheered with the others.

Some days later Darius went to the clock tower where he had seen Potter on the map.

“Hello, Potter,” he greeted and Potter gazed at him from the window and smiled. The boy looked a bit beaten up and his hand was in a sling.

“You did great out there, with the dragon, I mean,” Darius said. “Nobody can say that you are not a champion now.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Potter mumbled and then turned towards Darius with a smile. “Ron and I made up.”

“Did he finally see the error of his way?” Darius asked.

“Sort of,” Potter said with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Have you figured out the next clue yet?” Darius asked curiously but Potter shook his head.

“Not yet, no.”

“Tell me if you need help.”

“I will,” Potter promised.

“Have you figured out what to wear for the Yule ball yet?” Darius asked to change the subject.

“For the what?” Potter asked.

“The Yule ball. It is tradition for the hosting school of the tri-wizard tournament hold a Yule ball. It is a form of dance,” Darius explained, seeing Potter’s face fall.

“No, I haven’t. I can’t even dance!” he said with a slightly panicked look on his face.

“You are going to have to. As one of the champions you have to dance first of all, in front of everyone,” Darius laughed. Potter looked pale in the face.

“It is not that hard. I can teach you,” Darius offered. “I was taught at an early age along with Draco. We used to take turns in who would lead.”

“Can you really teach me?” Potter asked doubtingly and Darius nodded and stood in the middle of the clock tower, his arms held out.

“Come on,” he said. “put your hand at my waist and take my hand.” Potter looked at him as if he had gone mad.

“Just do it, Potter,” Darius ordered and Potter hesitantly went up to him and took his hand and placed his other on Darius’s waist while Darius placed his free hand on Potter’s shoulder.

“Now,” Darius said as he began to move. “One two three. One two three.” They moved a little clumsily over the floor and Potter kept gazing down at his feet.

“Chin up, Potter,” Darius instructed. “And switch arms.” They switched the arms they were holding and Potter placed his other hand on Darius’s waist as Darius continued to count.

“And switch again,” he instructed. “And lift me up.” Potter hesitated before he grabbed Darius’s waist and lifted him up in the air with some difficulty due to his injured arm.

“Good, Potter. Now repeat,” Darius instructed and went back to counting aloud.

They spent nearly an hour practicing until they saw a flash from a camera and when they looked, they saw Rita Skeeter along with her camera man.

“What business do you have here?” Darius asked with a serious voice. “Did not Dumbledore ban you from the school grounds?” Skeeter looked a bit taken aback but then smiled.

“No matter. I have all I need,” she said and left with her camera man. Darius sighed and gazed at Potter.

“Let us end lessons here,” he suggested. “Just let me know if you need more.” Potter nodded.

“Thank you, Malfoy,” he said and Darius flashed him a smile.

“You are welcome,” he said. “I ought to go now.”

The next day the daily prophet arrived and on the front page was Potter and Darius as they danced together with the headline: “The boy-who-lived has a taste for wizards.”

“Harry Potter, also known as the boy-who-lived and youngest champion in the tri-wizard tournament, was found last night in an intimate embrace along with none other than Darius Malfoy, a beautiful and striving boy of the Malfoy household,” Pansy read aloud.

“She has a wild imagination,” Darius said before he drank his pumpkin juice.

“Aren’t you upset?” Draco asked. “She’s telling lies about you!” Darius shrugged his shoulders.

“What would getting upset do?” he asked simply.

Just then they heard a cry of outrage from the Gryffindor table.

“Look at this!” Granger said as she showed the front page of the daily prophet to Potter and then turned a few pages. “And this as well! Miss Granger, a plain but ambitious girl, seems to have developed a taste for famous wizards. Her latest prey sources report is none other than the Bulgarian bon-bon Viktor Krum. No word yet if this was because Harry Potter left her for Mr Malfoy or not.”

Darius let out a small laugh at the girl’s outrage when she read the article. Potter looked a bit red in the face but did not comment on the articles as the next moment a first year came up to Weasley, carrying a package. Weasley opened it and held out a dress robe that Darius’s grandfather would be ashamed to wear. It was the shade of an eggplant and had frills along the collar and sleeves. Potter also pulled out a dickie that was all frills with a bowtie on it. Darius tried to hold back a laugh at seeing them and so did many others from the different houses.


	5. Dance

Snape had gathered the Slytherin students, year four and up, in an assembly hall to speak about the Yule ball.

“I will not have any of my snakes making a fool out of themselves so I expect you all to be on your best behaviour,” he said with a serious look on his face.

“Now, to demonstrate the proper dance I ask for Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson to demonstrate,” he said and Draco and Pansy stood up from their chairs and went to the centre of the hall. Snape waved his wand and music began to play as Draco and Pansy began to dance gracefully, never missing a step. Darius smiled at seeing them and soon other students stood up to dance as well. Darius remained seated though, as did Blaise.

“Do you reckon Draco will ask Pansy to the ball?” Blaise asked and Darius laughed.

“The girl will hex him if he does not,” he said and Blaise laughed as well.

“Who are you going with?” Blaise asked and Darius shrugged his shoulders.

“I have not thought about it yet,” he answered. “And you?”

“Same,” Blaise said.

“Hey princess!” Darius heard as he walked through the halls of the castle and as he turned around, he saw the twins jogging up to him.

“We heard you give private lessons in dancing,” Fred said.

“Care to teach us?” George asked.

“Did Potter tell you?” Darius asked but the twins did not answer and just grinned at him. “Very well. Meet me in the clocktower after supper.”

Later that same evening Darius went to the clocktower where the twins were already waiting for him.

“So, who is first?” Darius asked as he faced them and the twins both smiled as Fred raised his hand. Darius beckoned him over and placed one of Fred’s hands on his waist and took the other hand in his own as he began to count and they began to step around the floor.

“Good. Now switch hands,” Darius said and Fred did as he said. “And lift.” Darius laughed as Fred lifted him higher than was necessary. They danced for a while, Darius did not know how long, and Darius silently admitted that Fred was better at dancing than Potter.

After a while Darius changed partner and danced with George instead while Fred watched. George was about as good a dancer as his brother and listened to Darius’s instructions. While they danced Darius felt Fred’s eyes on him.

“Same time tomorrow, princess?” George asked when they finished. Darius shrugged his shoulders.

“You seem to know the steps just fine,” he said but the twins smiled as they wrapped their arms around his shoulders.

“We can always get better,” Fred said as he and his brother leaned down and kissed Darius’s cheeks.

“Very well,” Darius agreed with a smile on his face.

It was not too late when Darius left the clocktower so he decided to visit Snape in his quarters. He knocked on the door and it took a while before Snape appeared by the door, his usual grim expression on his face.

“Darius?” he said as he looked at Darius. “What brings you here?”

“I just wanted to spend some time with my favourite professor,” Darius smiled.

“Unfortunately, you came at a bad time. I am in the middle of brewing some potions,” Snape said.

“Can I help?” Darius asked and Snape regarded him for a while before he gestures for Darius to come inside and the two of them went to Snape’s potions lab. Darius then spent most of the evening cutting up ingrediencies for the potion while he made small talk with Snape. The potions professor may not be the best conversationalist but he was a good listener and pleasant company. Darius always enjoyed the time he spent with Snape.

“How can Snape be pleasant company?” Potter asked in disbelief as he and Darius walked alongside the water.

“You do not know him as I do,” Darius said. “He can actually be very gentle and caring.”

“Are we talking about the same Snape?” Potter asked and Darius laughed softly.

“He is a loyal friend who truly cares about those close to him,” he explained. “He was my first crush, you know?” Potter stopped in his tracks and gazed at Darius with big eyes.

“Snape? He was your first crush?” he asked and Darius nodded.

“I was maybe six years old when I swore to everyone I met that I would marry Severus,” he said with a small laugh. “Luckily the words of a small child do not mean anything or I may have found myself in a marriage contract with him.” Potter laughed softly.

“Nowadays he is just a great mentor who is willing to listen to me whenever he has the time,” Darius explained.

“I don’t think he likes me,” Potter mumbled and Darius laughed.

“He cares in his own way,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “Remember that he saved your life in first year and he came to the Shrieking Shack last year.” Potter nodded thoughtfully.

“So, have you found a date to the ball yet?” Darius asked and Potter stopped again, his face red.

“No. I have no idea how to ask someone out,” he said and Darius laughed.

“You? The boy-who-lived who just recently battled a dragon cannot ask someone out?” he asked, still chuckling. Potter sighed.

“Right now, I’d rather take the dragon than this,” he said.

“Is there someone in particular that you wish to ask?” Darius asked curiously.

“Well, there is one person but I doubt they’re interested,” Potter said. “They’re way over my liege.”

“Surely not,” Darius protested. “You are Harry Potter, the golden boy of Gryffindor. I bet you have several people who would like to go with you.”

“Maybe,” Potter muttered, glancing at Darius from the corner of his eyes. “Hey Malfoy, can I ask you something?” Darius smiled at the other boy.

“Sure,” he said and stood to face Potter who fumbled with the strap of his bag.

“Would you…I mean,” Potter fumbled with his words until he sighed. “Would you teach me how to dance again?” Darius smiled at him.

“Of course,” he said and removed his own bag from his shoulder. “Take my waist.” Potter removed his bag and did as he was told and then listened to Darius’s instructions as they danced under the setting sun.

“You are getting better, Potter,” Darius said afterwards. “You will make your date proud.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Potter muttered and went to pick up his bag again, handing Darius his as well.

Darius was sitting in the great hall, reading when he felt a small shiver then he felt something tickling against his neck. He reached behind himself and rubbed at his neck just as he felt his hair falling freely, his ribbon gone. He started to look around, thinking that it had just slipped off but he could not see it anywhere. When he was just about to stand up, thinking maybe that it had stuck on his person when he saw it floating in front of his face. He reached out to grab it just as he felt two identical kisses on either side of his cheeks.

“Hello Fred. Hello George,” he greeted, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Hello Princess,” the twins greeted together while they sat down on either side of him, their arms wrapped around his waist.

“What are you reading today, princess?” George asked while Fred leaned his head on Darius’ shoulder so that he could read the book in the Slytherin’s hands.

“It is just a potions book,” Darius answered and heard a small snicker from the twins.

“Always the overachiever, aren’t you, princess?” Fred asked with an affectionate voice. Darius shrugged his shoulders, mindful of Fred’s head which was still resting on it.

“Everyone needs a hobby,” he answered. The twins snickered again and then stood up and turned to face him.

“Well, no more studying today, princess,” George said as he and Fred both held out their hands for Darius to take. Darius put the book in his bag and then took the offered hands, allowing the twins to pull him up on his feet.

“Today your gallant knights are taking their princess on a date,” Fred said with a big smile on his face. Darius gazed between the twins, seeing both their smiles as they gazed back, making it hard to tell if they were serious or not.

“What do you mean by that?” he finally asked.

“We’re taking you to Hogsmeade, princess,” Fred answered and he and George wrapped their arms around Darius again.

“We thought maybe we could do some shopping,” George added.

“Maybe even grab something to eat,” Fred continued.

“What do you say?” they both asked. Darius let out a small laugh.

“I say, lead the way.”


	6. Yule Ball

Harry sighed as he sat in the classroom at study hall but his minds were somewhere else entirely.

“This is mad,” Ron whispered. “At this rate, we’ll be the only ones in our year without dates.” Snape walked slowly behind them and slapped Ron on top of the head. Ron sighed and then smiled.

“Well, us and Neville,” he said and Harry chuckled.

“Yeah, but he can take himself,” he said as they both laughed. Hermione gazed up from her own books to glare at them both.

“It might interest you to know that Neville’s already got someone,” she said and Ron sighed heavily.

“Now I’m really depressed,” he mumbled. Fred then tossed a piece of parchment to Ron who read it:

“Get a move on or all the good ones will have gone.” Ron glared at his brother and tossed the parchment back.

“Who are you going with then?” he whispered and the twins smiled.

“You’ll see,” George whispered.

“But they’re very pretty,” Fred said and winked at Ron who sighed and then looked at Hermione.

“Hey Hermione, you’re a girl,” he said and Hermione glared at him. Harry guessed where the whole thing was going and grabbed Ron’s arm, trying to stop him.

“Well spotted,” Hermione spat. Ron started talking when Snape walked by and hit Ron and Harry over the head with a book. Luckily, the book was quite thin.

“Come on,” Ron said softly. “It’s one thing for a bloke to show up alone but for a girl it’s just sad.” Hermione glared at Ron.

“I won’t be going alone because, believe it or not, someone’s already asked me!” she hissed and stood up to hand her work over to Snape before she came back to fetch her books. “And I said yes!” She then stormed out of the hall.

“Bloody hell,” Ron said as he watched her go.

“Look, we’ve just to grit our teeth and do it,” Ron said to Harry. “Tonight, when we get back to the common room, we’ll both have partners. Agreed?” Harry nodded.

“Agreed.” The next second Snape grabbed both their heads and pushed them down unto their books.

Harry knew who he wanted to ask but it was probably too late to do so. The person was smart and popular and easy to talk to; they would not go with him.

Harry sat in the common room, still without a date, when Ron was helped inside, looking shaky.

“What happened to you?” Harry asked.

“He just asked Fleur Delacour out,” Ginny said as she and some other students helped Ron to sit down.

“What?” Hermione asked as she kneeled down in front of Ron.

“What did she say?” Harry asked.

“No, of course,” Hermione said but Ron shook his head, looking miserable.

“She said yes?!” Hermione asked in disbelief.

“Don’t be silly,” Ron said. “There she was walking by. You know I like it when they walk. I couldn’t help it. It just sort of just slipped out.”

“Actually, he was sort of screaming at her,” Ginny said. “It was a bit frightening.”

“What did you do then?” Harry asked.

“What else?” Ron squeaked. “I ran for it. I’m not cut out for this, Harry. I don’t know what got into me.” Just then the Patil twins came walking through the common room.

“Hi Harry,” they said in unison and Harry gave them a nod before an idea struck him and he ran after the twins.

The day of the Yule ball arrived and Harry and Ron walked down the stairs to the hall.

“Poor kid. Bet she’s in her room crying her eyes out,” Ron said.

“Who?” Harry asked and Ron looked at him as if it was obvious.

“Hermione, of course,” he said. “Come on Harry. Why do you think she didn’t tell us who she’s going with?”

“Because we’d take the mickey out of her if she did,” Harry answered.

“Because nobody asked her,” Ron said. “I would have taken her myself if she wasn’t so damn proud.”

They reached the end of the stairs and went up to the Patil twins who wore matching saris in pink and orange.

“Hello boys,” they said in unison.

“Don’t you look…” Parvati said as she gazed at Ron’s frilly outfit. “dashing.”

McGonagall then walked up to them.

“There you are Mr Potter,” she said. “Are you and miss Patil ready?” Potter nodded and McGonagall gave him a slight smile before she turned to Ron, looking slightly shocked.

“As for you Mr Weasley, you may head to the great hall with miss Patil.” Ron went up to Padma and escorted her into the great hall.

Harry looked around and spotted the Weasley twins with none other than Darius Malfoy. Malfoy was smiling as the twins gave him a flower which he put in his hair which he allowed to fall freely that night and it seemed to flow even though there was no wind and he had decorated it with small silver snowflakes. Malfoy wore a white robe with a white vest and a white silken cravat. With his nearly white hair he looked nearly ethereal.

“Beautiful,” Parvati said, sounding taken aback and Harry nodded.

“Yeah,” he breathed before he noticed that Parvati was looking behind them at the stairs where none other than Hermione came walking down in a purple dress, her hair coiled up with a single lock falling over her shoulder. She smiled as Viktor Krum went up to her and offered his hand which she took and then waved cheerfully at Harry.

The doors to the great hall opened to let in the champions while everyone else stood by the sides and applauded. The great hall had been made over to look like the walls were made of ice and there were tall Christmas trees standing at the end and the roof looked like several icicles were hanging down with snowflakes falling down. An orchestra was playing, led by professor Flitwick, and the champions took their place on the dancefloor.

Harry mentally repeated the lessons he had taken with Malfoy and placed his hand on Parvati’s waist and took her other hand as they started dancing and Harry was happy when it went rather smoothly. Soon others joined them on the floor, Dumbledore led McGonagall to the floor, Finch was dancing with his cat and Neville danced with Ginny. Harry saw from the corner of his eye how one of the Weasley twins led Malfoy onto the floor and Malfoy smiled brilliantly as he danced.

The next dance started and Harry led Patil to the side as some stayed on the dancefloor and others followed Harry’s example. Harry’s eyes once more went to Malfoy who walked up to professor Snape with a smile on his face. Malfoy took the man’s hand and seemed to be coaxing him along. Snape stood his ground until Malfoy gave him a look and the rigid man went out on the dancefloor with his student and to Harry’s amazement Snape was not a bad dancer as he led a smiling Malfoy over the floor. Malfoy’s dark eyes were practically glittering when he danced with the professor before he was led back to the twins.

The traditional orchestra had been replaced by a rock band and the traditional dancing was replaced with jumping and headbanging. Darius laughed as he danced with the twins, holding one of their hands in his own as they spun him around.

Darius noticed how Potter and Weasley sat by a table with their dates, looking sour and dejected. Parvati was soon asked to dance by one of the Durmstrang boys while poor Padma sighed heavily.

Darius went up to them, the twins right behind him, and sat down in the chair next to Potter.

“You have just been robbed of your date, Potter,” he said and Potter shook his head.

“It’s fine,” he muttered while the twins turned to Weasley.

“Come on, Ron! Ask the lovely lady to dance,” they egged on but Ron looked as sour as ever.

“Piss off!” he said and Padma sighed again as she stood up and walked away.

“How could you ask him to be your date?” Ron asked as he gestured at Darius. “Mom and dad are going to be furious with you when they find out.” The twins merely shrugged their shoulders.

“He was the one we wanted to go with,” Fred said with a smile at Darius.

A new song began and the twins held out their hands to Darius.

“May we?” they asked and Darius smiled brightly as he took the hands and allowed himself to be led back to the dancefloor, not noticing the hard look Potter gave them.

Darius was amongst the last people left at the ball and was slow dancing with Fred, George sitting by the side watching, when he heard Weasley and Granger argue but he did not hear or care what they were arguing about as they walked out of the great hall.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The twins got the most votes about who Darius should go to the ball with.
> 
> Now the question is; should he end up with one or both of the twins or Harry?


	7. Second Task

The next morning Darius sat with his friends talking about the ball when an owl flew over to the Gryffindor table. Darius thought little of it until he heard a screaming voice:

“Fred and George Weasley!” Darius looked over to the Gryffindor table and saw that the twins had gotten a howler. “How dare you disgrace the family by taking a boy, and a Malfoy at that, to the ball? Your father and I are so disappointed! Out of all the things you two have done, this is the…” Before the howler could continue the twins had destroyed the howler with their wands before they sent a wink to Darius.

“You looked good out there on the dancefloor, Potter,” Darius commented as they were walking through the halls of Hogwarts, stopping at a bridge.

“So did you,” Potter said. “I mean, your robes were nice.” Darius laughed.

“Yes, my aunt Narcissa bought them in Paris. I do not know why she had me in white when Draco got the more traditional black and white,” he said.

“Well, they suited you,” Potter said and Darius smiled at him.

“Thank you, Potter,” he said.

“Have you figured out the next clue yet?” Darius asked and Potter shook his head. Darius tsked and gazed out over the schoolyard.

“You had better hurry up. The next task is in just a few days,” he said and Potter nodded.

“I know,” he said dejectedly.

“Hey Potter,” a voice called out and Darius and Potter turned to see Diggory jogging towards them.

“Look, I realise I never really thanked you properly for tipping me off about those dragons,” Diggory said.

“Forget about it,” Potter said. “You would probably do the same thing for me.”

“Exactly,” Diggory said. “You know the prefect’s bathroom on the fifth floor?” Potter nodded.

“It’s not a bad place for a bath,” Diggory said with a cock of his head. “Just take your egg and mull things over in the hot water.” Diggory gave Darius a nod and then left again.

“I would take that advice of his,” Darius said and shooed Potter off.

Darius continued along the corridors when he met Barty Jr. Darius’s face turned grave then.

“Did Diggory give him the clue?” Barty asked and Darius nodded.

“Just now, why?” he asked.

“It is vital that Potter wins the tri-wizard tournament,” Barty hissed.

“So, you are helping him,” Darius said his eyes slightly narrowed and Barty nodded.

“He cannot know that I am though,” he said. “As his friend, you have to help him.”

“I am, whether you tell me to or not,” Darius said with a serious voice and Barty nodded his tongue sticking out like a snake.

“Good, good,” he said and then went on his way. Darius remained standing as he gazed after the man before he shook his head and continued on, heading down into the dungeons to Snape’s quarters.

“He told me that Potter has to win the tournament,” Darius said as he was pacing, his tea forgotten on the table. Snape regarded him with a calculating eye.

“Barty Crouch Jr is a demented follower of your father. There is no telling what he might do to complete an order,” Snape said calmly.

“I figured as much,” Darius said with a sigh. “The man did not seem right to me.”

“You have a keen eye,” Snape praised and Darius smiled softly.

“I take after the best,” he said as he met Snape’s gaze.

“By the way,” Snape said as he stood. “Your uncle sent you a letter.” He went over to the mantlepiece and picked up a letter which he brought back to Darius.

“How come he did not send it directly to me?” Darius asked.

“I think he thought that it would be too risky,” Snape said and handed over the letter. Darius opened it and began to read.

“ _Dear Darius,_

_We have found a spell which can bring your father back to his old self again but for that we need some blood from you as his kin, freely given. Just fill a vial and hand it over to Severus, he will know what to do with it._

_Your father sends his love and is looking forward to seeing you soon._

_Regards,_

_Lucius Malfoy_

_Ps. Did you really have to go to the Yule ball with the Weasleys?_ ”

Darius did not hesitate and went into Snape’s potions lab and took one of the knives and an empty vial. He cut himself in the hand and let the blood fill the vial which he then handed over to Snape.

“Just tell me if they need more,” Darius said with a serious look on his face and Snape nodded and then gave Darius a healing potion for his hand.

Darius soon left Snape’s quarters and headed to the Slytherin common room. He saw Blaise sitting in one of the couches, reading the daily prophet which had a picture of Harry dancing with Parvati on the front page.

“Anything interesting?” Darius asked as he sat down next to Blaise who gazed up from the paper.

“Rita has covered most of the ball. She compliments your robes and writes that you dumped Potter for the twins,” he said and Darius laughed.

“Anything for some drama, that woman,” Darius said and Blaise nodded in agreement.

“You’ve been spending a lot of time with Potter this year,” Blaise said as he folded up the paper and placed it aside. Darius shrugged his shoulders.

“He needed a friend and he is quite pleasant to be around,” he said lightly.

“I see,” Blaise said softly. “Do you think he can win the tournament?”

“He might. If he keeps his wits about him,” Darius answered.

“Suppose he has battled worse,” Blaise muttered.

“Indeed,” Darius agreed and then gazed at Blaise. “Care for a game of chess?” Blaise smiled and nodded and the two of them went over to the chess table to start a match.

A couple of days later Darius went to the library to search for a new book to read when he spotted Potter, Weasley and Granger. Potter was slumped over a book, looking dejected while Weasley was asleep, snoring lightly, and Granger was pacing.

“What is going on?” he asked as he approached them. Granger glared at him.

“This doesn’t concern you, Malfoy,” she said as she went up to Weasley and lightly hit him to wake him up.

“I need to find a way to stay underwater for an hour,” Potter sighed.

“Well, there is the bubblehead charm,” Darius said. “But it is quite complicated and I do not know if you have time to learn it.”

“Great,” Potter muttered and slammed his head against the book in front of him.

“Listen Harry, we can do this,” Granger said as she kneeled down next to Potter. “The three of us can figure it out.”

“Hate to break up the scholarly session,” Barty Jr said as he appeared behind one of the bookcases. “But professor McGonagall would like to see you in her office.” Potter began to rise from his chair when Barty held up his hand to stop him.

“Not you Potter. Just Granger and Weasley,” he said.

“But, sir,” Granger protested. “the next task is only hours away and…”

“Exactly,” Barty interrupted. “Presumably Potter is well prepared by now and could use of a good night’s rest.” He ushered Granger and Weasley out of the library.

“Longbottom!” Barty then called out and Neville peaked out from behind a bookcase. “Why don’t you help Potter put his books away.” Neville went up to Potter as Barty limped away.

“Don’t worry Potter,” Darius said as he placed a hand on Potter’s shoulder. “You’ll figure out a way.”

“A way to do what?” Neville asked curiously.

“I have to breathe underwater for an hour,” Potter said as he looked at Neville who perked up.

“What about gilliweed?” he asked and Darius smiled.

“Brilliant, Neville,” he praised.

“What’s gilliweed?” Potter asked.

“It a plant that gives you temporary gills,” Neville explained.

“Where can I find that?” Potter asked, sounding hopeful.

“Uncle Severus has some in his private stock. I can get some for you,” Darius said and hurried away to Snape’s quarters. He knocked on the door and Snape soon answered.

“Yes, Darius?” he asked and Darius smiled at him.

“I need some gilliweed,” he said and Snape narrowed his eyes.

“What would you use that for?” he asked.

“It is not for me,” Darius said. “Potter needs it for the task tomorrow.” Snape frowned but eventually gave in and fetched some which he handed to Darius.

“Thank you, Severus,” Darius smiled. It was too late to head back to the library so Darius went to the common room and decided to give it to Potter the next day.

Darius joined the others as they headed to the black lake. He found Potter in the crowd, walking alongside Neville, and ran up to him.

“Potter, here you go,” he said as he handed over the gilliweed.

“Now, are you sure about this, Neville?” Potter asked as he gazed at Neville who nodded.

“Absolutely,” he said.

“For an hour?” Potter asked.

“Most likely,” Neville said.

“Most likely?” Potter asked, slightly panicked.

“Well there is some debate among herbologists as to the effects of freshwater versus saltwater,” Neville said hesitantly.

“It will work, Potter,” Darius assured, placing his hand on Potter’s shoulder.

They took the boats to three water towers in the middle of the black lake and Dumbledore spoke over a loudspeaker:

“Welcome to the second task. Last night something was stolen from each of our champions. A treasure of sorts. These four treasures, one for each champion, now lie on the bottom of the black lake. In order to win each champion need only find their treasure and return to the surface. Simple enough. Except for this, they will have one hour to do so and one hour only. After that they'll be on their own.”

Darius watched how Potter put the gilliweed in his mouth and immediately began to choke.

“You may begin at the start of the cannon,” Dumbledore said and just after the cannon sounded. Three of the champions dived in while Potter, still choking, was pushed in by Barty Jr.

“What’s the matter with him?” Finnigan asked as he looked into the water.

“I don’t know, I can’t see him,” another student said. Neville looked panic-stricken.

“Oh my god!” he said as he put his hands on his head. “I’ve killed Harry Potter!”

“You have not, Neville,” Darius assured just as Potter jumped out of the water, like a dolphin, cheering loudly.

“See? He is alright,” Darius smiled.

Some time later Fleur Delacour came back to the surface and was helped onto the tower by her school friends.

“The Beauxbatons champion Miss Delacour has unfortunately been forced to retire,” Dumbledore said. “She will take no further part in this task.”

Time ticked by and the surface of the black lake remained still until Diggory appeared with Cho Chang and both of them were helped onto the tower while the crowd cheered.

Shortly after Granger appeared with a shark’s head which slowly morphed back into Viktor Krum. The crowd cheered again as they were helped out of the water.

The hour was almost up when Weasley and a young girl appeared at the surface but Potter was nowhere to be seen. The hour was up when Potter came propelling out of the water and onto the decking of the tower. People were crowding him at once, placing towels over his shoulders and patting his back. Fleur Delacour went up to him and kissed his cheeks for saving her little sister.

“Attention!” Dumbledore shouted but was barely heard over the cheering crowd. He put his wand to his throat and called again, his voice sounding like it was on a loudspeaker. “Attention! The winner is…Mr Diggory.” Diggory and his friends cheered. “For showing unique command of the bubblehead charm. However, seeing as Mr Potter would have finished first, were it not for his determination to rescue not only Mr Weasley but the others as well, we’ve agreed to award him second place. For outstanding moral fibre.” Darius cheered with the others.

“You are such a Gryffindor, Potter,” Darius said as he and Potter were walking through the dark forest and Darius was balancing on a fallen over tree. “You realise that the people in the water were never in any real danger. They would not have been left there even if you did not rescue them.”

“Yeah, well,” Potter said, noticing that Darius was losing his balance and took his hand to steady him. “I didn’t really think, I just acted.” Darius laughed and jumped off the tree.

“Again, such a Gryffindor,” he smiled. “At least, in this case, your moral fibre turned into something good.”

They continued to walk and Potter was holding his scar, as if in pain, when they came upon Barty Crouch Sr, dead.


	8. The Return of Voldemort

“I bet my wand it was Barty Crouch Jr that killed his father,” Darius said as he was pacing Snape’s office.

“I would not put it past him,” Snape said. “The two of them were not on the best of terms.”

“So I can imagine,” Darius mumbled. “I cannot believe that Dumbledore has not figured out that his good friend is actually someone else in disguise.”

“The man is blind to many things, luckily,” Snape said.

“I suppose so,” Darius said as he sank down in one of the chairs by Snape’s desk.

“Any news about my father?” Darius asked after a moment’s silence.

“The spell to bring him back will take place the same day of the last task of the tournament,” Snape said.

“I want to be there,” Darius said.

“It is too risky,” Snape protested.

“I do not care, Severus,” Darius insisted as he met Snape’s gaze. “I want to see my father.”

“So, how are you feeling, Potter?” Darius asked as they walked along the lakeside again. “You know, after all that has happened?”

“I don’t know,” Potter mumbled. “Everything is sort of…blurry.”

“I see,” Darius said.

“You know, I stumbled upon one of Dumbledore’s memories the other day,” Potter said. “It was an interrogation of Igor Karkaroff. He mentioned some names of other death eaters. Snape was one of them.” Darius held his tongue and allowed Potter to continue:

“Another name was Barty Crouch Jr. The thing about him is that I have seen him.”

“Where?” Darius asked.

“In this dream I’ve been having. I’m in an old house and in one of the rooms is Voldemort, only he isn’t quite human,” Potter said and Darius stopped walking.

“What else did you see?” he asked.

“I saw Pettigrew and Barty Crouch Jr,” Potter continued. “Dumbledore tells me to forget these dreams but I can’t help thinking that they mean something.” Darius swallowed a lump in his throat.

“Well, I never took Divination, but it sounds like you are seeing the past, or even the present,” he said.

“You think so?” Potter asked and Darius shrugged his shoulders.

“I cannot say for certain,” he said and the two of them continued to walk again.

“Will you cheer me on in the final task?” Potter asked.

“I’m sure you have several people to cheer you on,” Darius said with a smile.

“Yeah, but…I’d like you to be there. All this year you were the only one who stood by my side no matter what,” Potter said and smiled a little hesitantly at Darius.

“As you wish, Potter,” Darius said although he wondered how he would be able to be there if he was to partake in his father’s return. Potter’s smile brightened.

“Thanks, Malfoy,” he said and leaned over to place a kiss on Darius’s cheek before he ran off. Darius remained for a short while, taken aback by the kiss, before he made his way back to the castle.

The day of the last task arrived and the quidditch court had been transformed into a large maze.

“Earlier today Professor Moody placed the tri-wizards cup deep within the maze. Only he knows its exact position,” Dumbledore announced to the crowd as well as to the contestants. “The first person to touch the cup will be the winner. I’ve instructed the staff to patrol the perimeter, if at any point should a contestant wish to withdraw from the task, he or she need only send up red sparks with their wands.”

Darius went up to the contestants who were talking to Dumbledore in a circle. As soon as the circle broke Darius went up to Potter and hugged him.

“Good luck, Potter,” he whispered in Potter’s ear before he withdrew, smiling at Potter who was grinning softly.

“On the count of three...” Dumbledore said. “ONE...” Before he could say anything else the cannon went off. Filch shrugged his shoulders and Dumbledore sighed. Potter and Diggory made their way into the maze and Darius watched as the entrance sealed behind them.

“Let us go,” Darius told Snape who nodded and the two of them stuck away and left the school ground so Snape could Apparate them away from there and into a graveyard. Uncle Lucius and auntie Bella were already there along with some other people. Darius was disgusted to see the coward Pettigrew there, carrying what appeared to be a deformed infant. Darius quickly realised that that was his father and the sight nearly made him cry.

They waited a while until Potter appeared, having touched the tri-wizard cup which was a portkey. With him though was Diggory and before anyone could do anything Darius used his spare wand and used it to render Diggory unconscious to get him out of the way.

Potter looked scared and lost as Pettigrew raised his wand to get Potter to stand and then the statue of the grim reaper behind him moved and pinned him in place with its’ scythe. There was a large cauldron in front of the statue and the fire underneath it flared up as Pettigrew approached it and dumped Darius’s father inside it.

“Bones of the father, unwillingly given,” Pettigrew said as he waved his wand and a bone flew up from one of the graves and into the cauldron.

“Flesh of the servant, willingly sacrificed,” Pettigrew continued and sliced off his own hand into the cauldron.

“Blood of the kin, willingly given,” Pettigrew said and emptied the vial that Darius had filled before into the cauldron. Pettigrew then turned to Potter, a knife in his hand.

“Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken,” he said and used the knife to cut Potter’s arm. Darius looked away when he heard Potter scream out in pain as he was cut. Pettigrew took the knife and allowed the drops of blood to join the concoction.

“The dark lord shall rise again,” Pettigrew mumbled and the next moment the whole cauldron caught fire and disappeared, leaving in its’ state a naked body which hovered in the air, like a new born baby. The figure moved and the smoke from the fire morphed into a black robe. Darius gazed at the form before him; an older version of the boy he had met in the chamber with dark hair and eyes and pale skin.

“Father!” Darius called out and ran up to his father.

“Darius!” his father said and opened his arms to allow Darius to run into them and they embraced tightly.

“My dear son,” his father whispered as he leaned back and held Darius’s face in his hands. “Finally, I can touch you.” Darius met his father’s gaze and smiled, his own eyes filling up with tears which his father wiped away with his thumbs.

“Begging your pardon, my lord, but what do we do about the boy?” Pettigrew asked from the side, nursing his injured arm. Tom looked at Potter with narrowed eyes as Potter was still held in place by the statue.

“Leave him be, father,” Darius said softly. “Let him and the other boy return to tell of your return.” Tom looked down at him but finally nodded.

“Wormtail, my wand,” Tom said as he approached Pettigrew who cowered before him and handed over the wand. Tom then used his wand to let Potter free.

“Get out of here, Potter. Tell the world what you have seen,” he said and Potter hurried over to Diggory’s still body and brought the cup to himself, disappearing from the graveyard.

Pettigrew whimpered where he stood.

“Master, your son is betraying you. He has been helping Potter,” he said with a small voice.

“You dare to speak of me in that way you coward?” Darius asked and pointed his spare wand at Pettigrew. “Crucio!” Pettigrew fell to the ground and writhed in pain.

“Enough, my son,” Tom said, placing a warm hand on Darius’s shoulder. Darius lowered his wand again and Tom went up to Pettigrew who slowly stood up, whimpering.

“I helped you return, master,” Pettigrew said. “I have been loyal.”

“Out of fear, you cowardly rat,” Darius spat.

“Indeed,” Tom agreed and gazed at Pettigrew. “Still, you have proved yourself useful these past few months.” Tom waved his wand and created a silver hand to replace Pettigrew’s missing one.

“Oh, thank you, master!” Pettigrew said as he moved his new hand.

“Master,” Snape said as he stepped up. “your son and I ought to return before we are missed.” Tom gave a nod and he and Darius shared another embrace before Darius joined Snape’s side and they Apparated to the outskirts of Hogwarts and then hurried to Snape’s quarters, acting as if they had been working on a potion the whole day.

Potter was named the winner of the tournament with Diggory in the infirmary to recover from his blow. Potter tried to tell everyone that Voldemort was back but a lot of people refused to listen to him. Dumbledore finally realised that there was something wrong with Moody but by that time Barty had already fled and they found the real Moody in a coffer in the DADA classroom.

“Potter?” Darius called out carefully as he entered the clocktower where Potter stood. He turned upon hearing Darius and glared at him.

“You helped bring Voldemort back!” he accused.

“I helped bring back my father,” Darius said seriously. “If you had the chance to bring back your parents, would you not do it?”

“That’s different,” Potter said. “They weren’t killers.”

“Are you sure about that, Potter?” Darius asked. “My father is not the ruthless killer everyone makes him out to be.” Darius carefully reached for Potter’s hand and took it in his own.

“You have been taught that the world is painted in black and white when, in fact, it is all a grey area,” he said and Potter’s face softened just a little as he gazed at Darius.

“My father and his followers never wanted to destroy the muggles,” Darius explained. “Our goal is to preserve our wizard traditions and customs. For too long we have had to adjust to the muggle traditions and their ways due to the muggleborns and half-bloods instead of the other way around. Instead of Yule we celebrate Christmas and instead of Samhain we have Halloween and that is just scratching the surface. You know, Hogwarts used to have classes that taught Wizard’s customs and traditions, Wizard’s Laws and another that taught Wizard’s politics but Dumbledore removed them with the motivation that they alienated the muggleborns but we still have the Muggles study class even though that alienates purebloods. Why do you think so many of my father’s followers are from pureblood families? They know the old traditions and they can see them all slowly die away and they only wish to bring them back.”

Potter was silent as he gazed at Darius.

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” he asked.

“You do not,” Darius said with a shrug of his shoulders. “You just have to trust me just as I have to trust that you will keep my heritage a secret.” Darius gazed into Potter’s green eyes, hoping that the other boy could see his honesty. For a long while Potter did not say anything until he finally gave a small smile.

“Alright. You did save me and Cedric in the graveyard,” he finally said and Darius smiled back.

“I told you that I am your friend, Potter,” he said, squeezing Potter’s hand. “I stand by that.” He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Potter’s cheek before he left the clocktower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part four is finished. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you to everyone who left kudos and comments.
> 
> Look forward to part five soon.


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